Chapter 5 Re-Write - Good Ending from Good Decisions
by Kariego
Summary: Many people suffered from "post-LiS depression" after playing through Chapter 5 of Life Is Strange. So, I wrote a summary of how things might have gone differently. It's in the format of Chloe's journal, as if you are Max and found it to read her thoughts on October 14th.
1. Intro

Why did I re-write the ending? – At the end of Chapter 4, after Max and Chloe found the Dark Room and evidence about where Rachel's body was, the story took a dark turn that it never recovered from. It went from a beautiful coming of age romantic adventure where Max and Chloe were going up against the world and winning, to a nightmare of despair that kept spiraling downward until it hit rock bottom at the ending of Chapter 5. I understand the real life lesson, that terrible things happen and you just have to accept them and move on. Being stuck in a sad moment wondering 'what if' and wishing you could go back in time to change something is very unhealthy in real life. But, this is fiction, and we write it to get away from the horrors of reality. Two major problems with their ending: One, I felt betrayed by the game that had told me all my decisions would matter and that I should "choose wisely", then in the end giving me the same two awful choices I would have been faced with no matter what I did. And two, the theme of the game was obvious in the first four chapters. I am to use my powers to rekindle my long-lost relationship with Chloe, to help her deal with her step-father, her debt to Frank, her loneliness and loss of Rachel, to fill all the voids in her life with the love of Max. Then, in the end to have the game do a full 180 and make me let her go after all that effort? I wouldn't have it. So, I wrote a new ending, starting from when Max and Chloe found the Dark Room under the barn.

What did I change? – Your decisions matter now. I reference most good decisions you were supposed to make regarding other characters in Chapters 1-4, like comforting Victoria instead of mocking her when her cashmere sweater was ruined by paint. I wrote the "secret good ending" I've heard people ask for, where if you make all the right decisions throughout the game you can save both Arcadia Bay and Chloe. Also, since it was meant to be a Chapter 5 re-write I wrote it in the format as if you're still playing Max, so you'll read things like "Max decided" many times in my re-write.

How is it written and why is it Rated T? – Since this ending was mostly meant for 'Pricefield' fans that immersed into Max and fell in love with Chloe, I thought it would be most therapeutic to write it from Chloe's perspective. The story is in journal form to match the theme of the game, how Max kept her journal to express her thoughts and feelings about all the things that happened day by day. Well, Chloe is a very vulgar person. So her journal is riddled with cuss words. Also, it's a romantic fairytale style of ending for Max and Chloe, so there are lesbian tones and suggestions. So, it's Rated T for lots of profanity and some sexual references.


	2. Chapter 1: October 10, 2013 (Thursday)

October 10, 2013

Amazeballs! Super Max did it! She got the Dark Room door open. She really is the smartest, most talented person I've ever known. I don't even want to know how many rewinds it took to get that digipad code to work. When we went inside we found the creepiest lair where everything was so clean but so fucking evil. It made step-douche's home surveillance system seem like no biggie. But, when we turned the corner… Jesus! Rachel was strapped to a chair in front of a camera on a tripod. I thought she was dead so I screamed her name and charged right at her, which scared the shit out of her because she was just asleep. After freeing her we shared the tightest hug and cried like babies, and even Max cried. I could never have found Rachel without her. I'm so lucky to have my very own everyday hero.

Rachel told us everything. That punk-ass bitch Nathan Prescott was just the protégé of Mark Jefferson. I had no clue… but that was especially hard on Max to hear. Her favorite teacher… the reason she came back to go to school at Blackwell Academy. I was ready to go shoot that asshole, but I asked Max if we should continue on our own or call the cops to tell them about this Dark Room first. Max decided to call the cops and they showed up with all kinds of detectives and medical rescue and kept congratulating us. I told them it was all Mad Max, but she would never take full credit because she's so goddamn humble. She's such a good person. With the Dark Room investigation and Rachel's testimony the cops had enough to put both Jefferson and Nathan away for a long time. But we found an empty red binder with Victoria Chase on it… that shady motherfucker already had his next victim planned out! So, Max called her, and luckily she was nice to Victoria over some paint incident, so Victoria took the call even though she was at that stupid Vortex party and listened to Max's warning. She was able to avoid and stall Jefferson with enough of her "I'm so pretty" bullshit that she bought the cops enough time to get there before he left. When they caught up to Jefferson he had Nathan drugged out in his trunk and had a gun in his car, obviously ready to kill Nathan, and if Victoria hadn't kept him distracted she'd be out cold right next to him and they'd be long gone! I wonder how she'll treat Max now, knowing that she just saved her sorry cashmere wearing ass. As for Nathan, it was his fuck up that caused Rachel so much trouble. He didn't dose her enough so she was aware of who took her and could press charges, so they couldn't let her go. Now she's all PTSD and shit, so I can never forgive Nathan even if he was just a pawn. But I guess we lucked out that Jefferson was such a freak he liked Rachel as a subject so much he decided to keep her alive all this time. There were thousands of photos of her in there. Thanks for being such a psycho asshole about photography and keeping Rachel alive, Jefferson! Hope you get raped every day for the rest of your life. 'Nuff said.

We bounced as soon as those oppressive pigs let us leave. It's like they think I'm guilty no matter what kind of shit is going on, like I would ever hurt Rachel! At least Max and I got to ride in the back of the ambulance with Rachel, so that cooled me off. We went to the big hospital in the city, not the hick town clinic in Arcadia Bay, and I just couldn't stop crying and holding Rachel's hand. Seeing her smile was like waking up from a nightmare. I couldn't leave her side, and luckily the doctors and nurses were ubercool about it and let me stay with her the whole time. I told her everything that had been going on over the last six months, anything to keep her mind off the shit she went through in that room. But, I was so wiped out I just fell asleep on her lap at the end of the night. Meanwhile, Max was outside talking to the detectives making another big decision that would change our future. She told them about her tornado visions for tomorrow. I can't see how they wouldn't think she was crazy, so she must have used the rewind a lot to convince them she was serious. She saved Kate's life one day and Rachel's the next, so she kind of graduated from schoolgirl to super-sized hero in their eyes. But what really did it was that Alyssa is the daughter of one of the detectives and told him about Super Max saving her every day from something, like she could see the future. That definitely helped her convince them the tornado was real. So, now Arcadia Bay will have a plan for tomorrow if that tornado really does hit. Fuck yeah! I heard she even spent some time with Kate before going home. She really is an amazing force of nature, saving lives left and right! You rock, Max.


	3. Chapter 2: October 11, 2013 (Friday)

October 11, 2013

The sound of the hospital door opening woke me up when Frank entered the room at like 7:30am. I didn't think drug dealers would get up that early for anything. But for Rachel, I get it. After seeing the letter and picture in Frank's RV, I totally get it. He saw me and got all guilty face, and then Rachel did too when she figured out that I knew. I was like, dudes chill, it's fine, Max totally macked on me! I didn't tell them I backed out of it like a chickenshit, but whatever. The last six months of Rachel's life sucked hard, so I wasn't about to start any love triangle bullshit with her. Besides, I could tell by the way Frank and Rachel looked at each other that they were in love. So weird seeing Frank like that… he's always such a hard ass. But, they look really happy together and they kind of fit anyway, so how can I be mad? I forgave Rachel for not telling me about Frank and we hugged it out and agreed to stay good friends. So, since I paid Frank his three grand back from that cash stash in the principal's office and Max found a way to rewind till she got Frank's client info without any trouble, we're all cool. Once again Super Max rules! And it looks like she texted me letting me know one of the detectives drove her back to her dorm. She didn't want to disturb me while I was sleeping on Rachel, and I'm glad I got to spend the night with her to welcome her back to the real world.

I saw Frank's RV in the parking lot on the way out of the big hospital. Good to know he's going to stay there with Rachel for the day, that way I know they'll both be safe from the time-nado. I didn't even think about breaking into the RV and stealing some grass until after I drove off, so I guess Max is a good influence on me. Sure enough, when I got back to that hickhole the sky was dark and spinning over the coast. People could tell Max was right and they were all heading up to the lighthouse where she said it would be safe. I had to stop at home first to load up my laptop, a bunch of clothes and the metal box I keep under my bed. I didn't want to lose everything in the storm, but only had time to grab a few things. Then, I called Max to check on her and she was at Blackwell, which was about to bus all the students over to the lighthouse, so I asked if she wanted to go with them or if I should swing by to pick her up. She decided to ride with me. Hella good choice! So I picked her up at Blackwell and drove her to the lighthouse, and in the car explained to her how all her good decisions helped me square everything with Rachel and Frank. She was so happy to hear that, and I was so happy to see her smile grow so big. We talked about the four of us going on that road trip to Portland after this storm was over, maybe even in Frank's RV. That would be so friggin cool! But then we pulled up to the lighthouse parking lot and had to quit dicking around.

Shitballs! Max passed out on me right as we were starting to go up the lighthouse trail. It was right when the tornado formed and first touched down on the water. Max left a serious skid mark on time for saving my ungrateful ass and it's hella pissed at her! I tried to wake her up but her eyes were moving inside the lids, like she was experiencing something somewhere else. She was totally trippin out and I couldn't get her up, but luckily that weird fisherman always standing outside The Two Whales diner saw and came running to help. Apparently Max was nice to him and talked to him about the fish and weather and stuff a few times. Boom! More good decisions pay off. Max doesn't even need to be awake to help me out. Thanks to the fisherman I got Max to the lighthouse where the whole town was gathered. It took way too long for Max to snap out of it, she really scared me. But she woke up a few minutes after we made it to the top, talking about some crazy time nightmare and how everything is her fault and she's a terrible person. I was like, WTF? Stop second guessing yourself, Max! I know you've got my back because you saved my life a bunch of times, and now you've saved everyone else! Look around and see the whole town up here safe and sound because you're a super-sized everyday hero! My pep talk seemed to work well enough, and it's a good thing. I almost screamed 'I love you' which would have been a hella bad time to tell her. Then Max made it real for everyone who didn't believe. She suddenly ran over yelling for people to move out of the way right before a big tree fell where they were standing. Later on she yanked a man out of the way of a falling brick from the lighthouse. Nobody in Arcadia Bay died from that storm, all because of Max. And now nobody will ever doubt how special she is. She's more than just a guardian angel to me, Kate and Rachel now. She's the savoir of Arcadia Bay.

After the storm cleared pretty much the whole town was ruined. I used to say 'home shit home' but now I don't even have a home! This blows, but at least we're all alive. Literally everyone hugged Max before heading down the trail to all the wreckage, like a conga line of hugs just for her. She asked every one of them to keep her power a secret from the world, to say it was a lucky guess, and nobody wants to see her dissected by some government agency so everyone agreed to keep it quiet. Max deserves a serious fucking vacation after all she did. I just hope that shit-storm was a one-off. I can't watch her nose bleed and see her grab her head in pain again, and I definitely can't let her have another time nightmare like that. Bad Chloe. Never abuse Super Max powers again. After the hug train we made our way to my truck to drive back into town to check out the wreckage. At least half the buildings were totally gone, it was hard to look at. But, at least we had my laptop, some clothes and money to go on. We were drenched from the storm, though, so we went to hide behind a turned over bus to change into the dry, clean clothes in my truck. Having Max in her panties in front of me, I couldn't resist. I double dared her to kiss me again, this time for realsies. Not a peck, a full on five second kiss. I fucked it up last time by pulling away, and I don't get to rewind and do things over like the Time Ninja, so I have to be lame and ask for another try. She decided to go for it, and it was like fireworks exploded in my heart. My first kiss with Rachel was amazing, but this… I knew right then that Max was my soul mate. Or at least that's the thought that jammed up my brain and made me stand there staring at her like a zombie after the kiss. She said something dorky and gave me a free out like a total sweetheart, all I had to do was say "Nerd alert!" and we both laughed and put dry clothes on. By the way, Max looks hella sexy and badass in my clothes, not like a hippie anymore. I'm going to be such a good bad influence on her.

With dry clothes on we got in my rust bucket and headed back to the hospital to find Rachel and Frank and tell them everyone was OK, thanks to Super Max. After some yapping I proposed that the four of us go on that road trip to Portland since Arcadia Bay is wrecked anyway! But, the hospital staff didn't want to let Rachel leave yet, not after what she had been through. So, I turned to the Max Factor to figure it out. She decided not to bust Rachel out of the hospital, which I was pretty pissed about. I really wanted to go on that fucking road trip! Oh well, we can go in a week or two. I guess Max was right, like always, that smartass. She keeps me out of too much trouble. So, the two of us said our goodbyes and promised them the road trip another time, and we set out for Vegas baby! Color me outta here! We pumped up the volume and I finally got Max to let her inner punk-rock girl come out listening to the CD from my metal box. The drive was great, and we made it all the way to Redding the first day. We were both too exhausted from the time-nado shenanigans so we just passed out as soon as we got in the hotel room. What a fuckin day.


	4. Chapter 3: October 12, 2013 (Saturday)

October 12, 2013

Waking up in Max's arms is a great way to start the day. She looks like such an angel all zonked out on my shoulder with the morning light making her hair glow. Since I woke up first I wanted to be all sneaky so I whispered "I'll never leave you." She must not have been as asleep as I thought because she smiled and hummed, then nuzzled into my neck. Holy shit, so cute! But damn, she heard me! So embarrassing, being all mushy like that. I know she sees me as like this strong, brave person that doesn't give a shit about anything, and I know that gives her strength. I have to stay strong for her, but I definitely also have to find a good time to tell her I love her. I'm really hoping this trip is only the tip of the iceberg. Las Vegas this week, then the world! We'll take it all by storm. Shit, poor word choice. Must remember not to abuse Super Max powers. We got some breakfast at a diner, but it wasn't as good as mom's cooking. Maybe Arcadia Bay wasn't so shitty after all. At least it had a plug and free WiFi so I could use my laptop to find a good fake ID guy in Redding. But first, we hit up a drug store to stock up on supplies so we could brush our teeth and shower and everything, which was a great choice since we totally made out in my truck before peeling out. It wasn't too hard to find the dude, but he wanted us to wait in line like three days for a couple one hundred dollar IDs. I was like, fuck that! So when I waved four hundred in cash he bumped us to the front of the line and next thing we know we were a couple of 21 year old California girls. We're both totally stoked to hit the road and get one step closer to Vegas. God, I feel so alive when I'm on the road with Mad Max the Time Warrior!

Heading south on I-5 on a Saturday is hella easy, there was no traffic anywhere! And every time there was a speed trap Max would rewind and warn me, so I could speed all I wanted. Fuck yeah! That doesn't count as abusing her powers, right? 30 second rewinds don't seem to hurt her unless she does a whole bunch at once. But holding time still or going back a day or more, that really fucks her up. So, I guess we'll draw the line at 30 seconds every once in a while. I asked Max if she wanted to stick to the I-5 all the way or detour to San Francisco. She decided to take the detour, of course. She wanted to go check out the DeYoung Museum because she's such a photography nerd. How could I say no? She makes the cutest faces when she wants something, like a cat with big watery eyes. So we went to San Francisco to get lunch, which was like the best lunch I've ever had. Big city food is hella good! Then, we went to the museum and I just enjoyed following Max around, looking at the awe and wonder in her eyes. She's so adorkable about photography stuff. There was a pretty concealed room downstairs, beyond some weird thin statue things, and I leaned up in the corner and gave Max 'the look' and a finger waggle. It was so cliché, but she decided to go for it, and we macked out so hard. That was the first time I groped her ass, and she arched her back to push into it. That made 'us' feel real to me, like we went from hopefully girlfriends to definitely girlfriends. It was a very special moment for me, and I hope for her as well. We stopped kissing right before someone came to catch us, like Max knew exactly when to stop. I wonder how often she uses her powers and doesn't tell me... I'll ask her when we leave. We headed up front and wrote some nice postcards to Rachel and Frank, our parents, and Max even sent some to Warren and Kate. I already found out she's not into Warren at the Blackwell pool, but I wonder if I have to worry about Kate… nah, she's totally abstinent. And I could always give her a beatdown if she tried to steal Max from me! Just kidding, I wouldn't hurt Kate. I don't want to burn in hell forever. Anyway, we got our fill of San Francisco and hit the road again!

While driving we had a very serious talk when I asked her to tell me about all the times she's used her powers and hadn't told me about it. She decided to go with full disclosure, opened the whole file on me. She went back five years… to save my dad. Just for me. But when she told me what happened to me in that timeline I couldn't keep going. I had to pull over so I could climb into her seat and hold her. We cried together when I told her how sorry I was for all the things she went through for me. I told her how much I loved her, and that I would always love her, and she told me she felt the same. It was the most beautiful, genuine moment I've felt in… forever. Max makes me want to be me again. She makes me want to stop cussing and flipping people off, stop snapping and being so angry with the world. I can feel her warming up my heart and changing me, and she doesn't even need time powers to do that. She's more than just my guardian angel, she's the love of my life and I'd do anything for her. I guess I'll wait and see what she asks for, the blue haired punk-rock girl or something more chill. Whatever she wants, she gets… how could I ever say no to her after all she's done for me? And at least I found the right moment to admit I love her, and it all worked out perfectly. So, after our heart to heart we wiped away the tears and jetted. Max took her turn to drive so I could stare out the window and think for a while. I can't believe I asked her to put me out of my misery in another timeline after she's spent so much effort keeping my miserable ass alive in this one! That must have been so hard for her, and she deserves better than that. This alternate reality shit is trippin me out.

We made it to Los Angeles right as the sun was setting. So, of course we had to pull over to take a quick picture in the sunset. I'll always let Max take pictures of us, as much as she ever wants to. It makes her so happy, and she can come back and relive any memories she wants with me, even if she doesn't want to change anything. So, I'll always be hella nice to her right after she takes a picture. That's a great gift I can give her in return for saving my ass so many times. So, I cuddled up behind her and gave her nuzzles and tummy rubs while we watched the sunset together. It was the most mush potato thing I've done in years, but it felt right. Then we went into town and had to choose where to eat dinner. Max decided on a really fancy, romantic place. We still have 1,500 left from the cash stash and I'm fine spending it living a little, if that makes Max happy. Not like we'll be strapped for cash after we thrash the casinos in Vegas, anyway! But, we can't cheat the gambling system for the rest of our lives, only to get on our feet. Wherever we end up starting our new life together, I've gotta find a real job to help support Max if she still wants to go to photography classes. I love her too much to deny her that. Anyway, we make a date and it's so bizarro. Eating at a fancy restaurant in Los Angeles with the girl I love… is this real? Yesterday we survived a tornado in a hick town! Shit, why am I bitching about this? Max had time nightmares and watched me die over and over. I won't bring it up, not unless she does. I never want to remind her of that awful week, even though everyone in the world is going to because all they know about is how many lives she saved. Nobody will ever understand all her pain except for me. So I'll have to make it all go away. I'll love the literal hell out of her until there's only happiness left.

After the best dinner of my life the bill comes and I have to look. It's… a lot. I ask if Max wants to dine and ditch with her powers, but she decides not to become a teenage fugitive on the run. She's no fun sometimes, but it's probably a good idea not to steal when we're about to go win big in Vegas. Why am I always proposing dumb shit to her? I need to stop doing that. So, she pays and we leave, off to find a hotel room! We find a nice hotel this time, like one with a pool and hot tub and all that. There's no way I'm passing that up! We don't have bathing suits, but whatever, nobody was around. So we take the hot tub for ourselves and us swimming in our undies alone, I can't resist the coincidence. "Why look, an otter in my water." We laughed so hard, and it took like one minute for us to be all over each other! So much kissing, touching, whispering sexy things to each other, and we're not exhausted this time. So we head back to the hotel room and get to the bed, but I want to be sure. I ask if Max wants to take this step tonight, and she decides it's the right time. My heart found a trampoline or something cause it was bouncing all over the place. That night… so good I can't describe it in words. I'm not that good at writing! But, we went… three times! \\(^_^)/ Don't you dare say no emoji! I just made love to my soul mate for the first time… and second, and third. I get a free pass on this one! And Jesus, I just have to say, the Maxster is a force of nature! She looks so innocent and inexperienced… don't judge a book by its cover, I guess. Maybe she used her rewind to make it perfect for me. I'll let her keep that one a secret if she did. God, I loved that night. I feel full, complete, happy to the Max. How did I get so lucky?


	5. Chapter 4: October 13, 2013 (Sunday)

October 13, 2013

We wake up naked and of course Max wants to take a picture of us. With the sheets over our breasts, of course! No pervy stuff. But the picture is obvious, seeing us naked and disheveled in bed, shoulder to shoulder, grinning like idiots. I still have to get Rachel back for that photo I found of her in the RV! So, I ask Max to take a second pic so I can send it with a postcard to Rachel and Frank, see how they like seeing us all sexy times! I hope Rachel gets at least a little jealous… but not a lot. I still love her as a good friend. Anyway, we get up, eat breakfast downstairs in the buffet and hit the road again! Driving from L.A. to Las Vegas on Sunday morning kind of feels like a sin, like, 'church time' is not the time you drive to Sin City. And that got me thinking about how Max got her powers… from who, or what, and why? It was at the perfect time and everything worked out in the end, so it couldn't have been some random fluke of science. Max said she had her first tornado vision in class, before she saved my ass in the bathroom, so was that tornado coming no matter what? If a higher power wanted things to go differently, why not just do it, why make Max do it? Ugh, this hurts my brain. Life is strange. I don't think I'll ever understand. But, it all happened and now I believe in higher powers again. Too bad I haven't been to church since I was thirteen, so I guess I'll have to start going again. What would I even pray, though? Sorry I've been queen of the assholes, God, please don't fucking tornado us again! Anyway, the trip is all excitement for us with my punk CD going full blast, us rawkin out and smiling more and more as Vegas comes into view. It took about four hours to get there, so we want to grab lunch before we hit the casinos and own this beeatch! I let Max pick, and she decides to take it easy and go to a café. It's probably not a good idea to get someone with time powers wasted with her new fake ID, so she made the right choice taking me somewhere that doesn't serve alcohol, cause I would have ordered a lot of it.

After lunch we made a plan and hit the casinos with every dollar Max can get out of her parents' card, and the thousand and some we had left from the cash stash. Of course we take a bunch of pictures first, because Vegas is beautiful, and we might need Max to jump back in case we become teenage fugitives. I propose we go for the roulette wheel and Max agrees. Finally, score! I do come up with good ideas, too, not just dumb ones! We plan it just right. Max watches the wheel, rewinds, and tells me what number to bet it all on. I do the betting just in case we get busted, so while I take the heat Max would be free to rewind to the pictures and warn me. We hit it big once in every casino on the strip, playing it careful. Hopefully their security systems don't share info, because the plan was such an epic win! I don't want to tell anyone how much cheese we stuffed in our pockets. Max felt really bad about it, so she decided to bundle up $10,000 and send it to Blackwell University as an anonymous donation to help them rebuild. Twice what we stole from the handicap renovation fund, so bad karma gone times two! Hopefully the universe isn't hella pissed at us for time fucking with Vegas a little. The casinos will be fine.

After another awesome day and dinner date with my love we stay the night in Vegas, and more sparks fly in our fancy casino hotel room. Being with Max is like pure magic. Better than everything else in life put together. Who needs weed and booze when I can just cozy up to my best friend and lover rolled into one? I'm not saying I'll never smoke or drink again, but with Max, I don't think I'll ever need to medicate anything away again. After the most bizarro week ever, this has been the happiest weekend of my life. As we lie there in bed, naked and snuggled up, I keep thinking about how much I owe Max. But what do I have? All I can give her is what's on the inside, so I'll give her all of it. I can feel it all bubbling up from my heart so I ask her to take a picture of us so she can revisit this moment whenever she likes. Then I break down as I hold her so tight it almost hurts, and I let it all out. "Max, I love you so deeply. I appreciate you. I cherish you! I'll never leave you. We'll last forever! I'll always have your back like you have mine. I'll always be your faithful companion. I don't care where we end up in the world as long as I'm with you, Super Max, my super-sized everyday hero, my partner in crime, my girl… the absolute love of my life. I will remind you every day for the rest of my life how much you mean to me, and how very special you are to this world. Tomorrow is a mystery to me, and I don't know where life will take us from here, but as long as you're there with me I'll be happy anywhere. Thank you for being my guardian angel and saving my life. Thank you for saving Kate and Rachel and the people of Arcadia Bay. Thank you for being so kind that everyone around you becomes a better person just from knowing you. And most of all, thank you for loving me. Thank you so, so much."


End file.
